Welcome to the weekend, friends! I spent the past few days in Rhode Island, exploring my friend Lynne‘s favorite part of the world. The foods we enjoyed this week were truly amazing; from lobster rolls to oysters, stuffies to clam chowder, scallop rolls to dough boys, chocolates, doughnuts, popcorn and Del’s frozen lemonades on repeat.

As much as I enjoy travel, it’s great to be home again. I’m looking forward to a fun weekend with all of my boys.

ON THE BLOG this week: Have you tried Hot Buttered Rum? A warm mug of hot buttered rum brings about a full body coziness that feels like you are being wrapped in a thick warm blanket. (You can make a non-alcoholic hot buttered “rum” as well!)

These chewy, richly spiced Hot Buttered Rum Cookies are the happy result of what can I do with the extra buttered rum batter I don’t want to freeze?

Chicken Enchilada Dip is a creamy, cheesy, spicy chicken-filled enchilada dip, a hit with everyone who tries it. Hearty enough for a main dish, this was an enormous success for our family movie night.

This skillet is a delightful combination of sweet potatoes, fresh corn, asparagus, and bacon with a drizzle of balsamic. It was something unexpected that I pulled together for a dinner side dish a few years ago, using odds and ends from the refrigerator. What resulted was a skillet full of magic. I know that sounds like I am exaggerating but I promise you I am not. This dish is so good it qualifies as a company coming over meal.

Espresso Ice Cream is quite easily one of my favorites. I love a simple, smooth yet rich and creamy authentically coffee-tasting ice cream. This is a simplified and egg-free version of my Cafe con Leche Ice Cream – and we LOVE it. 

What I’m CRAVING: Lobster Rolls! (Thanks a lot, Lynne.) I’m loving this version from my friend Heidi. She combines the buttery awesomeness of a hot lobster roll with the creamy dressing that I love on a cold roll. I need to try these lobster rolls soon!

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these cheap little cork coasters. I have them all over the house. I originally bought them because my coffee was cooling way t

Espresso Ice Cream is quite easily one of my favorites. I love a simple, smooth yet rich and creamy authentically coffee-tasting ice cream.

Espresso Ice Cream

This is a simplified and egg-free version of my Cafe con Leche Ice Cream. I absolutely LOVE the flavor of espresso ice cream. I’ve made this recipe a couple of times and each time it tastes exactly like a frozen airy cup of Cafe con Leche.

I am a stickler for flavors and ensuring the items I make taste like the real thing. Fake or artificial tasting flavors just don’t cut it for me. I really enjoy coffee-flavored things but they often seem weak or watered down in the coffee flavor department.

In an attempt to create a simplified coffee ice cream, I tried numerous methods and variations. I have not been impressed with anything made with just the grounds or beans steeped in milk. I prefer the deeper flavor created by mixing brewed espresso with the cream.

The hot espresso dissolved the sugar perfectly. Then when combined with cream and a touch of extra espresso powder it came out deliciously rich and espresso flavored.

In getting the truest coffee flavor possible it did result in having a bit more water (thanks to the real espresso) in the ice cream mix. It is super creamy and delicious right after you make it.

However, the espresso does create a slightly icier almost crumbly-like texture if you try to serve it straight from storing it overnight in your freezer. What I recommend doing is letting it sit on the countertop for 10 minutes at room temperature before scooping. It should scooper smoothly at that point.

Ice cream making is a science of fat, liquid, and temperature, and depending on your ingredients things do freeze and thaw a bit differently which is what can result in an icy texture.

This Asparagus Skillet is a delightful combination of sweet potatoes, fresh corn, asparagus, and bacon with a drizzle of balsamic.

Asparagus Skillet

This was something unexpected that I pulled together for a dinner side dish a few years ago, using odds and ends from the refrigerator. It was one of those nights where I stood there staring just waiting for inspiration. As if I expected a meal to magically appear.

So I started pulling out things that just need to be used up, a random ear of corn, a few strips of bacon (what were those doing left alone, that NEVER happens) a bundle of asparagus that was looking just a tad sad along with some sweet potatoes on the verge of sprouting.

What resulted was a skillet full of magic. I know that sounds like I am exaggerating but I promise you I am not. This dish is so good it qualifies as a company coming over meal.

Slightly browned sweet potatoes, salty bacon pieces, fresh corn cooked just until warm, and asparagus that is tender and still just a little bit crisp are all tossed together with just a drizzle of balsamic to make this Asparagus, Bacon, Corn, and Sweet Potato Skillet.

I enjoyed the sweet and salty mix of the potatoes and the bacon combined with the crunch of the fresh vegetables. This is a great mix of textures and flavors. My kids liked this so much, that my oldest asked for seconds. Seconds of a vegetable side dish?

While I intended for this to be a side dish because I served it with some grilled chicken that night. This dish has a spot in our regular lineup. And I have been known to double and triple the recipe and call it the entire meal.

Kitchen Tip: I use this skillet, this bowl, and this spatula to make this recipe.

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Sweet and Salty Chocolate Caramel Banana Trail Mix

A little bit of sweet, a little bit of salty and the yummy banana chips you remember from your childhood! This trail mix recipe is perfect for hiking, the holidays or game day!

I was chatting with friend the other day about school lunches, aka the worst part about back-to-school ever and she mentioned that she was so tired of the snack rut. I totally am the same but one little thing has been helping me the past two years- snack mixes and trail mix!

All you do is throw together snacks that hit a few notes like sweet and salty, crunchy and soft and bam, you’ve got a brand new snack for lunch or after school! Sometimes I even mix together cereals and dried fruits, the kids love it!

Ingredients for Banana Trail Mix

One of the best things about a trail mix is that it can totally be flexible to what you have and what you love. This is our favorite combination but feel free to customize it to your liking.

• Dark Chocolate Chips – creamy and chewy
• Pretzels – salty and crunchy
• Caramel Bits – sweet and chewy
• Salted Almonds – salty and crunchy
• Banana Chips – sweet and crunchy

The measurements for each ingredients is listed in the recipe card below.

How to Make Banana Trail Mix

It almost seems silly to even have a section to explain this, but you would be surprised! Dump all the ingredients from the bags into a large bowl and toss together. Now that’s a recipe that anyone can handle!

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Chicken Enchilada Dip is a creamy, cheesy, spicy chicken-filled enchilada dip, a hit with everyone who tries it.

Chicken Enchilada Dip

If I can turn a dish into something eaten on a tortilla chip I am totally in! Chips and dips get to the core of this savory girl every time. Not to mention, whenever you can turn a snack into a meal, everyone is ready to dive in.

Dippable and snackable is how my family would describe chicken enchilada dip. With all the flavors of my homemade enchiladas without the filling and rolling mess, anyone can make this enchilada dip.

Enchiladas find their way to our table quite regularly we eat them with a fork, scooped up on tortilla chips or rolled and stuffed into burritos. I make them with beef, or chicken, or vegetables. We’ve even been known to eat enchiladas for breakfast.

This dip makes traditional enchiladas even easier to scoop up on tortilla chips; the kids and my husband were raving about this appetizer for a couple of days. Hearty enough for a main dish, this was an enormous success for our family movie night.

Start by sauteeing your onions, bell pepper, and seasonings in a skillet. While your onions are cooking cut up the tortillas into small pieces so that you can add them to the onion mixture.

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